It might not be perfect, but the manner in which the presidential candidates are chosen in the United States works. We start out with several options, then narrow them down to two by process of elimination.
It's probably one of the most democratic electoral systems in the world. Even so, it does have its downfalls.When you have candidates from the same party running against each other, voters pick their favorites, but then when the primaries are over, they are forced to change their allegiance.That is particularly difficult to do when a race is as intense as the one we went through this election year, in which voters seemed to feel so passionately about their candidates.So, now that the Democratic presidential nominee has been determined, the $64 million question is staring everyone in the face: Where do Hillary Clinton's supporters go from here?These are their options: Support Barack Obama, the rival she ran such a ferocious campaign against; cross party lines and give their vote to Republican John McCain; or go for the unthinkable -- abstain from voting.That certainly is one dilemma affecting the Latino voting population. A good portion of the fastest-growing sector of our electorate is now faced with the daunting prospect of having to reconsider their commitment.Most major polls tracking the intention of Latino voters showed Sen. Clinton as the clear favorite, with the support of up to seven out of 10 Hispanics.Even after Obama increased his Latino voter outreach, the numbers didn't move his way. Major endorsements from high-profile Latino politicians such as Rep. Luis Gutierrez, former Denver Mayor Federico Pena and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson did not do much to influence the Latino vote.Sen. Ted Kennedy's support of Obama, intended in part to draw the attention of Latino voters, could have gotten them to listen, but it is yet unknown if they liked what they heard. In exit polls conducted in states where the Latino vote was tracked, Clinton got between 65% and 70% of their support, as opposed to Obama's 30% to 35%, with the exception of his home state of Illinois, where he got 50% of the Latino vote.Now that Obama has Clinton's endorsement as well as that of some of her high-profile supporters, will he be able to entice Latino voters who had chosen her over him?Pollster Sergio Bendixen, one of Clinton's main advisers on Hispanic affairs, says Obama is going to have to win over Latinos on his own. "He will have to focus his message on the issues that are important to Latinos in order to get their support," he said, "issues such as universal health insurance and an economy that produces new jobs."The same thing could be said for presumptive Republican candidate John McCain. He will, without a doubt, have to work hard to earn the support of Latinos. The Democratic Party has a significant advantage over Republicans among Hispanics, who were hurt by the negative tone of the immigration debate.In a Pew Hispanic Center poll conducted last year, only 23% of Latinos called themselves Republican, and a great majority said the Democratic Party shows more concern for the Latino community than does the Republican Party.Also, a Gallup poll in May showed that while Clinton would have done better against McCain than Obama, Obama would still beat him among Latinos, with 62% of the vote over 29%. But now it's a new ballgame, and the real race for the White House begins.Perhaps now more than ever before, the Latino vote is up for grabs.There have been major efforts by national Latino organizations and media partners to motivate Hispanics who qualify to become citizens of the United States. The response was phenomenal.Within the past year, more than 1 million legal residents applied for citizenship, and thousands were naturalized. The voter-registration campaigns have been in full force all over the country trying to increase the number of voters, and it is expected that a record 9 million could show up at the polls.So now Hillary's Latino supporters will have to keep a close eye on their options. But staying home and not voting should not be one of them.